Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), along with Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), held a rally to promote Social Security on March 28. Senate Majority Leader Reid stated that “Social Security is the most successful social program in the history of the world.” He argued strongly against privatization and plans to cut benefits. He also emphasized that the program did not contribute to the deficit. The standing room only crowd included over 300 Social Security beneficiaries and supporters who broke into frequent applause and chants of “hands off, back off.” Joyce Lipman, a long time advocate with The Arc of Maryland and a current member of the Board of Directors of The Arc of the U.S., spoke at the event, describing what the program means to her daughter who has a disability. Watch a montage of the event, including speeches by Senators, advocates, and beneficiaries at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7_JXewBTkg

Shortly after this event, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) made the following statement during a speech at the Hoover Institution: “So we’ve got to protect today’s seniors. But for the rest of us? For — you know, listen. We’re going to have to come to grips with the fact that these programs cannot exist if we want America to be what we want America to be.”